Jerod Mayo introduced as the new head coach of the Patriots

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Jerod Mayo, who spent the entirety of NFL career learning from Bill Belichick as a player and then as an assistant, will be introduced as the new head coach of the New England Patriots on Wednesday.

The Patriots on Friday promoted Mayo as the franchise’s 15th head coach, one day after team owner Robert Kraft announced that Bill Belichick wouldn’t be returning for another season.

Mayo, 37, is the youngest head coach in the NFL and the first Black coach in the history of the Patriots.

He will be formally introduced at noon at Gillette Stadium.

Mayo was drafted by the Patriots in the first round of the 2008 draft and he played eight seasons in New England, winning a Super Bowl ring in 2014. He has been an assistant under Belichick since 2019, serving primarily as the Patriots linebackers coach.

Mayo has a clear understanding of the Patriots’ defense (7th in the NFL in 2023), which was one of the lone bright spots for the team during their dismal 4-13 season.

Mayo was signed to a long-term extension last offseason. It’s unclear what the terms of that deal entailed, but it was reported last week that there was a “succession plan” clause written into Mayo’s contract that would allow the Patriots to fast-track him as head coach.

When asked last week what qualities he was looking for in a future head coach, Kraft said the plan was to move very quickly but kept the desired qualities in a candidate simple.

“We are looking for someone who can get us back to the playoffs and win,” Kraft said. “I’m very upset when we don’t win games and it carries the whole week. I promise you, our family will be dedicated to doing the best we can do to bring a winning team back.”

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New England Patriots coaches Steve Belichick, left, and Jerod Mayo, right, against Jacksonville Jaguars during an NFL football game against the Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Paul Connors) (Paul Connors/AP)

Defensive lineman Davon Godchaux and linebacker Mack Wilson praised Mayo’s abilities after learning he would be replacing Belichick.

“He deserves to be a head coach. He’s a leader. You have to have your guys want to get up and play for you. It’s not easy to do in the NFL when you have other grown men,” Godchaux told the team’s official website. “It’s not easy to get up to play for coaches, especially coaches you don’t respect. I think I’m speaking for everybody when I say everybody respects Coach Mayo.”

Wilson told the website, “He’s just got that alpha male personality about himself, and he’s one of those coaches who knows how to turn it on and off. He’s definitely a players coach...”In today’s society, in today’s world, I feel like when you have coaches that played the game that have the opportunity to become coaches, I feel like it’s easy to win a team [over].”

Mayo isn’t expected to have the same control over personnel matters as Belichick did during most of his tenure in New England.

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